Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target Lowered to $210.00 at Bank of America

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its price objective decreased by Bank of America from $220.00 to $210.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on AMAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.81.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $170.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. Applied Materials has a one year low of $144.57 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.71%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $2,645,000. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $595,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 52,373 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $10,801,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 218.9% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 825,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $170,182,000 after purchasing an additional 566,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 11,833 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,440,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.